All Forum Posts by: Johnny Lau

@Stephen Witkowski

Going without an agent puts you in front of the line, you can ask the selling agent to represent you as well. Most information you need can be googled. Besides, the selling agent is morally obligated to have your best interest in mind. Then you can negotiate to lower their commisions and receive kickbacks. I have only used an agent once, on my first house. It's a huge advantage winning bids by going without an agent. Are agents helpful? Only experienced ones maybe. I have bought many properties without, and most times my offer was accepted was because I went without a buyer agent. I see more value going without.

Lots of great info here, thanks to everyone for your input! I did buy these OOS houses but in a higher class, B class with the intention of keeping them long term for cash flow. They will go to the next generation, I don’t intend to sell any of my properties that cash flow well. I’ll leave the cheap stuff to the pros. It was tempting though but I learned a lot in such a short time. Thanks BiggerPockets!

No Bay Area flippers our there?

What’s your flip stories, good or bad

Besides OOS buy and holds, I’m getting into local flips. Last house I partnered with came out like this:

675k buy

225k fix and hold

1.3m sold

400k profit

Onto the next one....

Bring on the fever! Lol

@Jason Cory

Why go slow when the numbers are good? Been looking for months, Alabama is just one market I considered. The houses are in B neighborhoods and numbers are good. Market is stable. Worst thing to do is to get paralysis by analysis. If I see something good I buy it, it’s pretty simple. Actually probably going to buy 2 more next month, maybe Alabama. Maybe Florida, whatever I feel looks good.

Going slow is for those who don’t know what they doing. If some family members invested with me back in the day they would’ve had several cash flowing properties that at least doubled in price by now, these are out of state. Also, not having to depend on your day job is a luxury real estate investing provides me.

What is this “fever” you’re talking about? Yeah, you are kind of blunt. But the info provided was good.

@Jason Cory Why slow down if the numbers are good? I was about to be in contract to buy 3 but changed my mind on one, numbers weren’t so good. So I guess that is slowing down, lol. Me and my wife look for deals on our spare time and we always crunch the numbers. I always do my due diligence, all my buys are safe, some would call boring. All my OOS are bought in cash, so I’m not worried about the bank taking it. And I’m part of a network that did most of the vetting ahead for us, so I’m not going in blind trusting anyone. I’m ok with market rate turnkeys, everything is already done so these are the easiest purchases I’ve ever done. When these 2 close we will be in the market for 1-2 more right away. Actually, we are actively looking for the next deal. Going forward and not looking back, it’s worked good so far! This is not fast for me, fast was when I had 4 houses under contract at the same time in 2008 with one house holding up the whole deal, luckily it went through ok.

@Jason Cory I appreciate the candid words Jason. I go for cash flow and the numbers look good to me. I’ve been buying since 2007, been doing pretty good so far. OOS is like a kid in a candy store I have to admit, being from the Bay Area. Every house I bought performs very well be it appreciation or cash flow. Most houses bought in California more than doubled in value, some tripled and some even more. Example: some houses I bought near 100k-150k are now at 500 plus. My goal is to get to a couple dozen SFRs in a few years, maybe more; already more than half way there. I always look for a good deal. I’m getting into flipping houses in my area now. That’s even more exciting than these buy and holds. Partnered in a deal that netted huge profit. Many more opportunities next year. What do you do in real estate? Have you had lots of successes? I’m open to any and all good deals. Thanks for all your insight, you are very knowledgeable in that area.

@Jonathan Cox The house is in a suburb of Detroit, it’s in Southfield.

I am currently in contact to buy 2 houses in Birmingham at a higher price point than what I was looking at before. They are 4/2 for 129k, rents at 1200/mo and 4/2.5 for 114k, rents at 1150/mo. Both are turnkey and considered to be in B class neighborhoods. It’s not as exciting as the lowest priced houses but I’m satisfied with the numbers. I’m still thinking about picking up a cheapie just to see what happens. The realtor who looked at it said he would manage it. Why not roll the dice? lol I did go the higher price point mostly because of the advice I received here.

I am currently in contact to buy 2 houses in Birmingham at a higher price point than what I was looking at before. They are 4/2 for 129k, rents at 1200/mo and 4/2.5 for 114k, rents at 1150/mo. Both are turnkey and considered to be in B class neighborhoods. It’s not as exciting as the lowest priced houses but I’m satisfied with the numbers. I’m still thinking about picking up a cheapie just to see what happens. The realtor who looked at it said he would manage it. Why not roll the dice? lol I did go the higher price point mostly because of the advice I received here.